Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta 🍤🍝

Creamy, savory, slightly spicy, and packed with Cajun-seasoned shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, and Parmesan. This is the kind of pasta that tastes like it came straight from a restaurant—but is so easy to make at home!

Ingredients

Pasta & Shrimp

• 2 lbs raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tail-off
• 2 lbs fettuccine or linguine
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 packet sliced portobello mushrooms
• ½ cup diced sun-dried tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons sliced fresh garlic

Creamy Cajun Sauce

• 1 jar Rao’s marinara sauce
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2½ tablespoons Cajun seasoning
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt, to taste
• 1 cup reserved starchy pasta water

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta:
   Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine or linguine and cook until al dente, according to the package directions. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta water.
2. Start the sauce:
   While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet or pot over medium heat. Add the sliced fresh garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. Sauté for about 1–2 minutes, until fragrant.
3. Add the mushrooms:
   Add the sliced portobello mushrooms and sauté for a few more minutes until they begin to soften.
4. Season and cook the shrimp:
   Add the raw shrimp to the pan. Sprinkle the shrimp with the Cajun seasoning, black pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Don’t worry if the shrimp look heavily seasoned—the seasoning will flavor the entire sauce. Sauté the shrimp for about 3–4 minutes, turning as needed, until they’re just cooked through.
5. Make it creamy:
   Add the shredded Parmesan, Rao’s marinara sauce, and heavy whipping cream. Stir everything together and let the sauce gently simmer for about 3–4 minutes.
6. Add the pasta:
   By this point, your pasta should be al dente. Add the drained pasta directly into the shrimp sauce.
7. Add the pasta water:
   Pour in 1 cup of the reserved starchy pasta water and toss everything together until the sauce coats the pasta beautifully.
8. Let it come together:
   Cover and let the pasta simmer gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so everything gets coated in that creamy Cajun sauce.
9. Serve:
   Serve hot with an extra sprinkle of Parmesan and Cajun seasoning on top if desired.

🌶️ Cookwithdena Tip

The shrimp may look very heavily seasoned when you first add the Cajun seasoning, but that’s intentional! That seasoning becomes the flavor base for the creamy marinara sauce and the entire pasta dish.

Creamy. Cajun. Garlicky. Loaded with shrimp. 🍤❤️